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List of shipwrecks in 1971
...The list of shipwrecks in 1971 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1971.
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug | |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Unknown date | ||||
| References | ||||
January
7 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kolno |  Poland
|
The cargo ship ran aground off Falsterbo, Sweden, withdrawn from service as a result and converted to a floating boilerhouse. |
| West Shore |  Norway
|
The supply vessel foundered in the North Sea one nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) off the oil rig Ocean Viking. All thirteen crew rescued.[1] |
8 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Antilles |  France
|
The ocean liner ran aground off Mustique, St Vincent and the Grenadines and caught fire when her fuel tanks ruptured. All passengers and crew took to the lifeboats and were rescued by Queen Elizabeth 2 ( United Kingdom).
|
10 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vrachos |  Panama
|
The cargo ship caught fire at Galaţi, Romania and was beached in the Sulina Canal. Consequently scrapped.[2] |
11 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Texaco Caribbean | Panama
|
It was struck by the 12,000-tonne Paracas ( Peru) at 4:10 in thick fog. Paracas had ignored the shipping lanes so that it could take a quicker route down the channel. Texaco Caribbean exploded from the bunker oil fumes in its hold.[3] It split in two, the bow section sinking immediately, the stern section drifting for several hours before sinking too, resulting in 600 tonnes of bunker fuel being spilled.[4] The incident occurred in the English Channel 13 km (8.1 mi) off Folkestone with the loss of at least eight lives. The explosion was so great that property was damaged in Folkestone.[5][6] 20 survivors were rescued by Bravagos ( Norway) and the fishing vessel Viking Warrior ( United Kingdom). The survivors were taken to Dover. Paracas was towed to Hamburg.[7]
|
12 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg |  West Germany
|
Despite the British coastal authorities placing three vertical green lights on site to warn other ships of the presence of the wreck, the 2,695-ton Brandenburg struck the wreck of Texaco Caribbean ( Peru) at 07:30 and sank within minutes with the loss of 21 lives. Lifeboats did not have time to respond and only 11 survivors were picked out from the water by fishermen.[5][6][3][4]
|
14 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pasteur | Panama
|
The Shelt-type coaster sank off the Alida Shoal 00°56′N 107°53′E / 0.933°N 107.883°E when on a voyage from Sibu, Sarawak to Singapore. She was well off the normal route at the time.[8] |
18 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Arctic Sea |  United States
|
The crab-fishing vessel was reported aground on Fairmount Island (60°52′20″N 147°26′07″W / 60.8722°N 147.4353°W) on the south-central coast of Alaska.[9] |
27 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Norland | United States
|
The fishing vessel ran aground and broke up on Barlow Island (58°23′30″N 134°54′00″W / 58.39167°N 134.90000°W) in Southeast Alaska approximately 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) northwest of Juneau, Alaska. Her entire crew of three survived and was rescued by the buoy tender USCGC Clover ( United States Coast Guard).[10]
|
28 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hoveringham II | United Kingdom
|
The dredger sprang a leak, capsized and sank off Puffin Island, Anglesey. Her four crew were rescued by the Holyhead Lifeboat.[11] |
31 January
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Princess Margarethe |  Denmark
|
The ferry ran aground off the Kullen Lighthouse, Sweden. All on board rescued by Kärmen ( Denmark).[12]
|
February
3 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Decora | United States
|
The fishing vessel sank after striking Colorado Reef (56°38′20″N 132°56′10″W / 56.63889°N 132.93611°W) in Wrangell Narrows in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. The cutter USCGC Cape Henlopen ( United States Coast Guard) rescued her entire crew of five.[13]
|
6 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Byzantium |  Cyprus
|
The ship caught fire at Gibraltar, with its bridge deck and accommodation gutted. Repairs were deemed uneconomic and the ship was scrapped later in the year.[14] |
10 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aguedal |  Italy
|
The cargo ship ran aground 15 nautical miles (28 km) off the coast of Libya.[15] |
13 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Velta |  Costa Rica
|
The cargo ship sprang a leak and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 200 nautical miles (370 km) south east of the Azores (32°07′N 23°26′W / 32.117°N 23.433°W). She was on a voyage from Macapá, Brazil to Bilbao, Spain.[16] |
18 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Achillet |  Lebanon
|
The cargo ship sprang a leak and was abandoned 300 nautical miles (560 km) south west of Walvis Bay, South West Africa . She was on a voyage from Sfax, Morocco to Madras, Indial She foundered on 25 February at 19°00′S 10°19′E / 19.000°S 10.317°E.[17] |
22 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endeavour II |  New Zealand
|
The three-masted auxiliary barque was driven ashore in Parengarenga Harbour, a few miles south of North Cape. She was en route to New Zealand from Australia, and after being becalmed encountered a gale on rounding North Cape and failed to make Houhora Harbour. The crew of 13 men and one woman landed safely, there were no fatalities. She was the first square-rigged sailing vessel wrecked on the New Zealand coast for more than 50 years. Endeavour II had taken part in the 1970 bi-centenary re-enactment of James Cook's landing at Botany Bay, Sydney on 29 April 1970.[18] |
| Ocean Castle | United States
|
The fishing vessel sank in the Gulf of Alaska near the Barren Islands (58°57′N 152°15′W / 58.950°N 152.250°W) off the south-central coast of Alaska after colliding with the tanker Hawaiian Standard (flag unknown). Hawaiian Standard rescued her crew of four.[19] |
26 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wafra |  Liberia
|
The tanker ran aground at Cape Agulhas, South Africa.[20] |
27 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Niki |  Greece
|
A light ship and five light buoys were added above the site of the wreck of Texaco Caribbean ( Peru) by Trinity House. However, the ship Niki, sailing out of Dunkirk, ignored these and additional warnings of the nearby tanker Hebris. As observed by Hebris, Niki hit the submerged wreck(s) at approximately 8.16 pm and sank with the loss of all 21 crew and 1 passenger (the chief engineer's wife) before Hebris could perform a rescue of the men that had been observed in the water. Ten bodies were subsequently recovered.[21][3][5]
|
| Esso Antwerp |  Belgium
|
The ship collided with Panachaikon ( Liberia) and sank in the River Scheldt. Later raised, repaired and returned to service.[22]
|
28 February
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Maureen Greer | United States
|
The crab-fishing vessel sank at the entrance to Uganik Bay (57°50′N 153°32′W / 57.833°N 153.533°W) on the coast of Kodiak Island in Alaska. Her crew of three survived.[23] |
March
1 March
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| USS Reuben James |  United States Navy
|
The decommissioned Buckley-class destroyer escort was sunk as a target. |
2 March
| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Trinity Navigator |  Sweden
|
The tanker ran aground off Berry Head, Devon, United Kingdom.[24] |
3 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Henna | Panama
|
The bulk carrier sprang a leak and foundered in the Indian Ocean (34°57′S 72°08′E / 34.950°S 72.133°E). Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Bunbury, Western Australia to Savannah, Georgia, United States.[25] |
4 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Angela | United States
|
Carrying a cargo of powdered cement, the 420-foot (130 m), 8,512-gross register ton barge broke her towline during a storm and was wrecked on Old Cock Ledge, a reef off Westport, Massachusetts. She sank in waters up to 35 feet (11 m) deep, becoming partially submerged.[26] |
| USS Gregory | United States Navy
|
The decommissioned Fletcher-class destroyer was deliberately run aground on San Clemente Island off Southern California for use as a target. |
12 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wafra | Liberia
|
The tanker was towed out to sea and sunk by bombing from South African Air Force aircraft.[27] |
28 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Texaco Oklahoma | United States
|
The tanker broke in two on 27 March and foundered on 28 March, 100 miles (160 km) due east of Sandbridge off Virginia with the loss of 33 of her 44 crew.[28][29] |
30 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Panther | Liberia
|
The tanker ran aground on the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent, United Kingdom.[30] She was refloated on 4 April.[7] |
31 March
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Christos | Liberia
|
The cargo ship ran aground on Kandeliusa Island, Kos, Greece. She was refloated on 1 April but developed leaks and sank later the same day. |
April
edit1 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Christos | Liberia
|
Aground on Kandeliusa Island, Kos, Greece, since 31 March, the cargo ship was refloated but developed leaks and sank at 36°32′N 26°57′E / 36.533°N 26.950°E. |
12 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adak | United States
|
The motor vessel sank near Eliza Harbor (57°09′N 134°17′W / 57.150°N 134.283°W) on the coast of Admiralty Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska.[9] |
15 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lynda K |  United States
|
The fishing vessel was lost in the Gulf of Alaska somewhere between Homer and Seward, Alaska.[31] |
20 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cohansey | Panama
|
The T2 tanker collided with Marimunda ( Sweden) off Pladju, Indonesia. Arrested and laid up at Singapore, she was scrapped in 1973.[32]
|
21 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Stork |  Royal Navy
|
The Troubles: The survey launch, attached to the survey ship HMS Hecate ( Royal Navy), was towed out to sea, bombed, and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Baltimore, Ireland, by a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit.[33]
|
26 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ostrich |  Provisional Government of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini
|
Bangladesh Liberation War: The ship was sunk by Pakistan Air Force F-86 Sabre aircraft.[34] |
27 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kiejak | United States
|
The fishing vessel flooded, ran aground, and was lost in Dry Bay (59°08′N 138°25′W / 59.133°N 138.417°W) on the south-central coast of Alaska. Her crew of four survived.[35] |
28 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| USS Whitehurst | United States Navy
|
_sinking_on_28_April_1971.jpg) The Buckley-class destroyer escort was sunk as a torpedo target in the Pacific Ocean off the United States West Coast by the submarine USS Trigger ( |
30 April
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific | United States
|
Carrying a cargo of heavy construction equipment, the motor vessel sank in Portage Bay on the coast of Alaska. Reports of the sinking do not indicate in which of several Alaskan bodies of water named "Portage Bay" the sinking took place.[19] |
May
edit2 May
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tongass | United States
|
The fishing vessel ran aground and sank at the south end of Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. Another fishing vessel rescued all six members of her crew.[37] |
15 May
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Herulv | Norway
|
The tanker was involved in a collision off the coast of Kent, United Kingdom and was holed.[38] |
17 May
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ellinis | Greece
|
The ocean liner ran aground off Calshot, Hampshire, United Kingdom. She was refloated undamaged after two hours.[38] |
20 May
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Marjorie H | United States
|
The 40-gross register ton, 50-foot (15.2 m) halibut-fishing vessel struck a snag and sank off the Kenai Peninsula on the south-central coast of Alaska, 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) west of Resurrection Bay. Her crew of five abandoned ship in a life raft and were rescued by another fishing vessel on 22 May.[23] |
31 May
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gyro Jumbo | United States
|
The fishing vessel sank during a storm with the loss of one life in the Copper River Delta on the south-central coast of Alaska.[39] |
Unknown date
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ROKS PB 7 |  Republic of Korea Navy
|
The PB 3-class patrol craft was wrecked.[40][41] |
| Viking L&R |  Cayman Islands
|
The converted yacht foundered in Montego Bay, Jamaica. |
June
edit1 June
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| USS Bugara | United States Navy
|
The Balao-class submarine sank in the Pacific Ocean off Cape Flattery, Washington while under tow. |
2 June
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Agulleit | United States
|
The 23-ton, 54-foot (16.5 m) motor vessel was destroyed by ice at Emmonak, Alaska.[9] |
28 June
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Husky II | United States
|
The pilot boat was destroyed by fire approximately 1,000 yards (910 m) off Bethel, Alaska.[42] |
Unknown date
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| RPS Batanes |  Philippine Navy
|
The LSM-1-class medium landing ship ran aground. She was decommissioned in 1971 as a result and was scrapped in 1972.[43] |
July
edit1 July
edit| Ship | State | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Clyde Venture | United Kingdom
|
The coastal tanker sank in the Rothesay Dock, Clydebank due to the actions of vandals.[44] |
| HMS Artemis | Royal Navy
|
The Amphion-class submarine foundered at her moorings at Gosport, Hampshire. Subsequently raised and sold for scrap. |